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Two nations that have never tasted knockout-stage football at a World Cup will meet on June 28 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, in what amounts to one of the more remarkable fixtures in modern tournament history.
Canada and South Africa both emerged from group play with identical records of one win, one draw, and one loss. The reward for their survival: a single-elimination match where one team advances to the Round of 16 and the other goes home.
How both teams got here
Canada, co-hosting this tournament alongside the US and Mexico, secured second place in their group behind Switzerland. Jesse Marsch’s squad navigated the group stage without ever looking comfortable, but comfort is overrated when the alternative is elimination.
Alphonso Davies, Canada’s star and captain, has been confirmed fit to play.
South Africa’s path was even more dramatic. Hugo Broos’ side clinched their knockout berth with a last-minute 1-0 victory in group play. Broos has leaned heavily on team spirit as the great equalizer, and so far the formula has held up.
Ranked 61st globally, South Africa enters as one of the lowest-ranked teams to reach the knockout stages.
The stakes beyond the pitch
Canada is the clear betting favorite, with odds sitting around -320.
South Africa carries a different kind of weight. The last time the country hosted the World Cup in 2010, the national team failed to advance past the group stage on home soil, becoming the first host nation to be eliminated at that stage. Reaching the knockout round this time around is already an improvement on that painful benchmark.
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